Air Conditioning Myths That May Cost You More Money

Published on August 08, 2016

Myth 1: Find your air conditioning technician on Craigslist.

The interweb has provided us with a variety of places to go to get an A/C system service technician, but proceed with caution because not all are comparable. While the Better Business Bureau provides you with information on whether a business is accredited and, if so, a letter grade based on their business history and practices, other sites are accessible to anyone wanting to post an ad. Case in point, Craigslist lets anyone post an ad providing their services, regardless of whether or not they’re truly qualified, licensed and bonded, or have the actual training and background.

If you decide on a company or individual without getting to verify their qualifications and capability, it may end up costing you more in the long run. If the tech doesn’t have the qualifications to properly repair your specific air conditioner, you could end up needing another, more experienced company to repair their mistakes and it could cost you multiple service charges.

Myth 2: Choosing a small business is better.

Hiring small businesses can be wonderful for some small fixes – it’s good for the local business, good for the economy, and likely even wonderful for your bank account. But beware: small businesses or one-person businesses could let you down. If something backfires, they may conveniently disappear and not be available to rectify the situation, or they could not have the resources to get to you quickly, which is not what you want if your AC dies in the dog days of summer.

Paying a little bit more for a bigger, more established and reliable company can come with perks that help provide you with more peace of mind, including a one-year satisfaction guarantee, expert workmanship, a large certified team of servicemen and women who provide you service 24/7/365, and the confidence that they’ll be a call away in the future if you ever need them again.

Myth 3: It’s fine to use any type of refrigerant in your air conditioning system.

With the government stopping the making of R-22, many families are noticing the fee of refilling their air conditioning system’s refrigerant going up. It may seem like a simple fix to just replace your R-22 with a different and lower cost refrigerant, but if an AC service technician gives you that advice, you may want to call for a second opinion.

Manufacturers specify the exact refrigerant the system is developed for, and prior to 2010, it was typically R-22. Although there is extreme decrease of the production of R-22, those air conditioners are still designed for it, and substituting a different refrigerant may not only cause destruction to your air conditioner, it could nullify your warranty. An invalidated warranty could cost you hundreds or thousands more in future parts due to likely damage.

Myth 4: You don’t need annual A/C system maintenance.

A lot of people who aren’t having trouble with their air conditioning system may believe they don’t truly need yearly maintenance. It’s running fine, so why waste the money on a tune-up, right? Well there’s the fact that an annual AC tune- up runs you around $79 while repairs will set you back around $500. Not to mention, most manufacturers demand annual maintenance to maintain your warranty, so disregarding your routine tune-up could also mean foregoing your warranty, which means a big payout if your air conditioner decides to go out on the hottest day of the year.

Myth 5: Learning about the contractor isn’t valuable.

It’s important to ensure you do your research before picking an AC service business, especially if you feel a single company is intimidating you. As we mentioned in Myth #1, some domains don’t need a contractor to be qualified to place an ad for their services. You need to know what you’re getting into so you don’t have to pay for the same service multiple times.

Website reviews, referrals from neighbors, and an a high accreditation grade with the Better Business Bureau will all assure you of the type of business you will be offering your business to and help you choose if they are right for you. Angie’s List, Google+, and Yelp are all good places to start your research process. And, don’t be shy to ask for prior customer referrals. You might have to invest your hard-earned money with your air conditioner contractor, so invest a little time and research to make sure they are the ideal company for your home.

Myth 6: It costs you more to turn your thermostat to a higher temperature while you’re out of your home.

Long-term, it will increase your bills to leave the thermostat at a colder temperature all through the day than to increase it 10 degrees while you are away from your home. It usually will not require an excessive amount of more energy to get your home comfortable once you return, depending on the home.

A programmable thermostat allows for the temperature to be adjusted from a mobile device so you can just adjust the temperature back down before coming home, so your home is nice and comfy when you get home. This saves you energy over the course of the day, as well as reducing your cooling bills.

Fans help keep people cool, they don’t really reduce the temperature of the home alone. In fact, fans (like refrigerators) actually heat up homes. The motor that is making your fan run generates heat, which can add heat to the air in the home. A well-working ceiling fan can help level the temperature of the room and may assist in cooling air by circulating, but if nobody is under the fan to feel the cool air, all the fan is doing is blowing through energy and money, especially if the air conditioning system is already working. So keep ceiling fans off when no one is in the room and additional air circulation is not needed.

Myth 8: Don’t worry about where the thermostat is installed.

Thermostats measure the temperature surrounding it to determine whether it needs to start up the AC to cool the home. Placing a thermostat in the bedroom will only help ensure that bedroom reaches the temperature that the thermostat is adjusted to. Once your bedroom is cooled, the system will turn off and the remainder of the floor or home might be a lot warmer. If the thermostat is installed near a warm window or an appliance, it may continuously read the temperature as being much higher than the home really is and keep running your AC, upping your energy bills.

Myth 9: Excessively lowering your thermostat will help it cool more speedily.

Lowering your air excessively may only make your AC operate longer, it won’t get colder any faster. If your thermostat is set on 77, but you really want it to be 75, then set it on 75 and it will run until it gets to that temperature. Lowering the thermostat to 73 won’t make it lower to 75 any faster, and it will result in your system running longer, costing you money and energy.

Myth 10: It’s fine to change your air filter once a year.

Depending on the health issues for the residents of the home, and the kind of air filter you have for your air conditioner, your air filter might need to be swapped out as often as every four weeks. Not changing the air filter often enough not only makes your air conditioning system to work harder and reduce efficiency, it could also aggravate respiratory ailments like common allergy symptoms.

Call Winnipeg Supply Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing today for more information about your air conditioning system or to set-up your free in-home consultation.

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